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A Rochester poet 鈥榚xplores the lighter side of dark times鈥� with her latest collection of poems.

Sometimes, procrastination pays off鈥攁t least it did for Melissa Balmain.

Balmain, now an instructor in the at the , was writing the book (Faber & Faber, 1998) when she learned that two friends from college were writing and sharing short comic poetry via email. Thinking she had discovered a fun way to procrastinate, Balmain contributed a few poems. Then a few more. And some more after that.

While she did manage to finish her book, she also started a new career as a light-verse poet.

鈥淚 was always writing some kind of poetry or lyrics, and it was almost always comic,鈥� says Balmain. 鈥淏ut it wasn鈥檛 until I was in my 30s that I started writing a lot of comic poetry.鈥�

She hasn鈥檛 stopped writing since. Her latest book, (Paul Dry Books, 2023), 鈥渆xplores the lighter side of dark times.鈥� Those dark times, described by Balmain as a 鈥渄escent to hell,鈥� included climate change, crazy politics, and the modern plague, better known as COVID-19. Yet that descent is followed by a poetic effort to climb out from the depths, albeit with some side trips to Limbo along the way.

鈥淢any of us have coped by relishing the good that鈥檚 in the world, whether that鈥檚 family, great works of art, or humor, even silliness,鈥� says Balmain, who was experiencing some major changes in her personal life, including a looming empty nest. She herself embraced humor and silliness as a both a coping mechanism and creative fuel, which resulted in more than a few poignant observations that crop up in her latest book.

The collection opens with 鈥淥n Looking at an MRI Cross-Section,鈥� a poem juxtaposed with an image from an MRI scan of the author鈥檚 brain, one that was taken when Balmain was experiencing unusually severe headaches. While no brain abnormalities were discovered, Balmain nonetheless found the episode 鈥渁 little bit paralyzing.鈥�

鈥淭his is a very good example of seeking humor in a subject that is absolutely terrifying,鈥� says Balmain. 鈥淭he scan showed all these objects in my brain. Then I started to think how those freaky objects are the very things generating my poem.鈥�

Satan Talks to His Therapist touches on a wide variety of topics, including Shakespeare, Niagara Falls, donuts, middle age, grief, birdwatching, and pandemic-era masks. Most of the 63 offerings are humorous鈥�85 percent by Balmain鈥檚 estimation. That should be no surprise, considering how she鈥檚 wired. 鈥淚 discovered pretty early on that if I was being funny, I got people鈥檚 attention,鈥� explains Balmain. 鈥淚t鈥檚 just natural for me to seek the humor in situations, sometimes as a coping mechanism.鈥�

But don鈥檛 mistake comic poetry鈥攐r light verse鈥攁s something trivial or carefree. Balmain is constantly working to dispel that assumption. As she says, 鈥淢y favorite kind of light verse wrestles with something true about the human experience, whether that鈥檚 society or human nature.鈥�

Balmain has had her share of professional experiences that inform her writing. In addition to a brief stint as a mime during and after college, she鈥檚 been a journalist; newspaper columnist; college professor; and is now the editor-in-chief of America鈥檚 longest-running journal of comic verse, .

Once she discovered the satisfaction of light verse, Balmain got serious about the not-so-serious. She wrote two books of poems: (Able Muse Press, 2014) and (Humorist Books, 2021). Over the years, her writings, including prose, have also appeared in, McSweeney鈥檚 Internet Tendency, The New Yorker, The New York Times, and聽The Washington Post, among other outlets.

The groundwork for her success was laid in her early school years when she would read authors like Dorothy Parker, Erma Bombeck, and Russell Baker, and listen to the (often humorous) lyrics of Stephen Sondheim and Tom Lehrer. As an undergraduate at Princeton University, she took courses with writing luminaries, including John McPhee, Sandra Gilbert, Russell Banks, and Joyce Carol Oates. Her education continued after college, when she had opportunities to study with poets Dick Davis, Rhina P. Espaillat, Emily Grosholz, R.S. Gwynn, X.J. Kennedy, Joshua Mehigan, and Timothy Steele.

Having learned the craft of writing from accomplished writers and poets, Balmain鈥檚 career came full circle in 2010 when she joined the English department faculty at the University of Rochester as an adjunct instructor. Among the courses she teaches is a 200-level class on humor writing.

鈥淚t鈥檚 a matter of helping people to do the most they can with what they have. Will I be able to turn Debbie Downer into Tina Fey? Probably not,鈥� says Balmain. 鈥淏ut I do think that with techniques that we study in class, it is possible for someone to be funnier on the page.鈥�

One of those techniques鈥攖he most important one, according to Balmain鈥攊s generating surprise. 鈥淚f it doesn鈥檛 surprise your readers, they鈥檙e not going to laugh.鈥�

Laughter is one of the main objectives of her latest project. She鈥檚 working with the managing editor of Light to compile an anthology of the journal鈥檚 best poetry since 1992.

When she鈥檚 not editing and teaching, Balmain will continue writing. Because, as she says, 鈥淧eople who write poems are always writing poems.鈥�

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